Posted
by
CmdrTaco
on Tuesday July 13, 2010 @07:49AM
from the isn't-that-cute dept.

HouseMuzik writes "Betanews' Tim Conneally reports that sources close to RIM have confirmed the existence of a BlackBerry Tablet device, with a ship date by the end of the year. Previous reporting on the device was confirmed by the source, including a 7" screen and a 1GHz processor. The source added that the device would support Flash, and would include a hardware-based Flash accelerator. Betanews' reporting seems to confirm an earlier report that quoted Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar as saying the BlackBerry Tablet indeed existed."

Hey, buddy, sorry about getting my piece of the pie in the mobile phone market from under your feet but daddy's gotta eat. Right? Really though, I've been meaning to send you over some complementary hookers and blow but you know how things get busy what with the release of my new baby.

Speaking of which, it's called the iPad--maybe you've heard of it? I don't know, seems the other CEOs spend half the time with their heads up their asses so you coulda missed it.

Anyway, I wanted to take this time to send you a message, loud and clear:

It's okay. You can release a tablet device now.

I know, I know, you're probably pitching a tent under your desk as you read this. This has been tried -- what -- like fifty times before? And everybody's failed. But now your sugar daddy has warmed up the masses and anybody can stick their meat in. Even you! Of course you gotta hit below my price point when you offer them your aborted fetus of a tablet but come on let's be happy about this.

I mean, there's the three mil that have already bought the iPad--you know the people whose time is worth more than watching a goddamn blackberry shit itself. And there's everyone else (your customers).

And now that I've said it's "okay", it's "okay" to own a tablet. Did you see how that worked? Let me spell it out for you. Before it wasn't okay. Companies couldn't sell it, people couldn't buy it. And then Steve Titty Fucking Jobs showed up and said it was okay. Suddenly three million people have iPads. That's how it works. On July 12, 2010 your stock shares will jump a little bit because I told you it was okay to turn a profit.

Now someone else gets the dregs, offer up a knockoff and cash out. The Courier fell flat on the pavement like a bead of sweat sliding off of Steve Ballmer's bald head so I guess that comes down to you. But really, when is the last time that guy did anything right?

And you know what? After the iPhone took any non-corporate user you might have had maybe you deserve this. Maybe you are good enough to have Apple's sloppy seconds this time around.

Consider us even. I bet you're upset right now and that's because you're just reading this memo wrong. Don't read it that way.

Which is indeed what Jobs and some people here no doubt believe, but remember it's not true. Tablets were around before the Islate or whatever they called it, and they're still not mainstream after Apple's tablet. No doubt they will become more popular in time, but this is a gradual change due to increased technology (hence things like touchscreens, prices falling, cheaper mobile Internet connections), and there is no reason to single out Apple as a sole cause.

What has happened is that we now have vast amounts of media hype over Apple's tablet. But this happened before it was even released - or even officially announced in fact. So had nothing to do with any success it did or didn't have (and indeed, the causative link would be the other way round - vast amounts of media hype leads to better sales, not vice versa).

If we're going to credit anyone with popularising tablets, thank the media. But it's still very rare for me to see anyone with a tablet (and when I have, it wasn't from Apple).

Apple entered the phone market after most other companies - so they had to wait until other companies told them it was okay to release a phone now...

(RIM still have higher market share in phones than Apple, don't they? Although they're still small compared to companies like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola).

If we're going to credit anyone with popularising tablets, thank the media.

No, thank Apple for putting themselves into a position such that the media will create hype over any new Apple product release. Which is entirely Apple's doing.

But it's still very rare for me to see anyone with a tablet (and when I have, it wasn't from Apple).

I don't know where you're looking, but my anecdotal experience does not support this. For one thing, where none of my friends and acquaintances had any kind of tablet before, a few have iPad now (not all are happy about it, but that's another story). For another, I still see a lot of people around several stands with iPads in the local Best Buy - so

Which is indeed what Jobs and some people here no doubt believe, but remember it's not true. Tablets were around before the Islate or whatever they called it, and they're still not mainstream after Apple's tablet.

Indeed. This is why I compare the Ipad to the Apple Lisa. In the end it's a product that is less useful and more expensive then previous products. If tablets become popular it will end up being the same story the Ipad will be forced out by cheaper, more competitive tablets from other manufacturer

Make ANY tablet able to function as a Wacom or Cintiq, including the pressure sensitivity. You will lock in the Internet Comic business almost instantly.

There are other things required in order to be a true mainstream hit (which the iPad is, admittedly, fairly close to fulfilling), but creating a niche product that has been requested by pretty much everyone in the industry would certainly be a smart move.

And doesn't work well. The digitizer is 'grafted on' as opposed to 'designed in' and it shows. The company is about to go bankrupt. Most of the software support to make the thing usable has been done by a couple of users, not the company.

It's just like most of the Windows tablets - a hack job that's close to being useful (and indeed useful enough in edge cases) but never given enough engineering love to get the hardware and software to work together. I'm quite sure it will go the way of those tablet P

It's simple, RIM will go after the business market. Tablet style computers are great for lugging around to meetings and taking notes on and such. Give it some sort of a video out so I can attach it to a projector and it's an ultimate win. In the venn diagram that is the two companies' markets there's less overlap than there is individuality. Apple will get the consumer and RIM will get the business, assuming it doesn't totally screw up the business apps.

While I agree that there are very few internet comics actually finding success, I wonder if it's anything like the guitarist market. For every one guitarist who is making enough money from it to call a part of the guitar industry, there are 20,000 people who want to buy the same guitar, amp, effects, cables, strings, picks, hats, and condoms as the hero is using. That's a large part of what drives the guitar-related product market. The same applies to hip-hop artists in their mothers' basements doing wha

Internet comics aside, there are still a lot of artists who would like such a product.
I have no interest in comics but I know I'd love to lounge at a park or somewhere other then my dark cave and do some artwork. Sure I could do that on paper but then you've got an array of pencils, paper blowing in the wind and no undo! Not to mention having to scan anything you want to share.
A single object that'd let me to everything would be awesome!

No, it really isn't. In comparison with computer or mobile phone sales, the iPad is very much a niche product. It's a successful niche product, but it's far from mainstream. Even in comparison to iPods, it's not particularly mainstream.

Apple sells 50-60 million iPods per year, they've sold 3 million iPads in three months. The iPad has had a lot of press coverage, and is selling well, but it's definitely not a mainstream product.

And until recently the battery life wasn't that great either (technology is finally catching up to the early promise) --- I still have to use 9-cell extended life batteries in my Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4121 (and unfortunately Fujitsu has discontinued their ST-6012)

William(who has been using pen computers w/ Wacom styluses since the NCR-3125)

I would agree with you, but not so specifically. Any pressure-sensitive tablet capable of running Photoshop would be an instant winner in the art community, especially if it were priced around that of the iPad. The trend into digital illustration is huge, and not just in the comic industry, but frankly, working on a split screen/tablet format sucks. It's certainly doable (as I can personally attest) but it's a FAR cry from working directly on a medium.

The problem with this is that it's self defeating. The moment you bring ANY form of input device (other than your fingers, which most of us always have with us) back to the tablet, it completely changes the user experience to the point that the device risks falling back out of the "tablet" definition altogether. Would the "stylus" be required for input? It is on any Wacom device.

While such a device is a pipe-dream for artists (and has been for a LONG time), I seriously doubt the public wants to give up the versatility of finger gestures in favor of a pen, even a pressure-sensitive one.

After some reflection, it even makes more sense for a company like Wacom to take the display technology like that used in the iPad, and put it under their pressure sensitive matrix as a display hooked up to a stand-alone system. I know they did this with the cintiq, but at $2,000, the price point is just too high for all but the most serious of artists. To be viable in the current market, I'd say they need to cut their price point by half at least. A display with pressure input that was say, 20-30% more th

The trouble with tablet Photoshop is that, while Photoshop's base specs are only modestly outrageous(in fine Adobe tradition), its real-world spec requirements, among the sort of users serious enough to buy specialized hardware, can be absolutely stratospheric for absolutely unavoidable reasons of the "Nope, that's pretty much just how much RAM working on a 35 megapixel image at reasonable bit depth and adequate speed takes" flavor. You could probably do "Photoshop-lite" tasks easily enough on iPad hardware

I don't know enough to comment on the substance of what you said, but I do know from shopping for Christmas gifts for artistic family members that Wacom makes at least one tablet that does not require a stylus. The Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch [wacom.com] is one example. But then, when I was looking for that link, I came across the Cintiq [wacom.com] line. It's got the pen tablet and display in one - now just add the computer and make it pen-and-touch like the Bamboo and you're set.

You can do this already [tenonedesign.com] with the iPad, but it uses an private API, so it's a no-go for now. However, I expect Apple will see the value in opening this up at some point (please?), so we will set third-party pressures sensitive drawing apps and pens.

I hope the web browser and OS are radically improved on it, because if this tablet is running anything like what runs on the BlackBerry phones it will fail miserably. BlackBerry Browser is hands down the worst browser out there amongst the rest of the webkit based browsers on modern smartphones.

Does Flash support really make or break the deal when buying a smartphone or a tablet? Do people really double think that iPhone/iPad purchase just because of Flash? Does anyone even on Slashdot go Android just because of Flash?

Maybe I'm biased as I have an iPad but lacking Flash is a minor annoyance at best. If I switched to some other OS for a tablet or smartphone, Flash support is way at the bottom of the list of features I would switch for.

Personally, I think Flash needs to just die as it's only used for games and annoying ads.

Also, I really don't see why Flash should be in the headline. Unless BlackBerry is really targetting the Farmville segment of users.

It's actually important for me.From Google Analytics and Yahoo Finance to a game I play daily I rely on Flash. I actually like flash. I also like to be able to write my own flash app and to be able to install it on a device.

I seriously considered buying an iPad, but I decided against it due to lack of flash and MKV support (I understand there is a player albeit very buggy).

It's actually important for me.From Google Analytics and Yahoo Finance

Thank you for informing me of legitimate Flash uses. Those and Hulu, that someone else mentioned, are good uses of Flash.

However, I do still think that the lack of Flash support isn't a way to shoot yourself in the foot. Apple obviously didn't support it. I'm just wondering if any other companies will follow suit because of whatever reason or do they really believe Flash is a must-have.

They could recode (at least to an extent, I remember Google recently commented on the difficulty of going all-the-way with Youtube because of certain advanced features they would have to drop.

Also, although Google analytics probably has a generous dev. budget, Yahoo is in a perilous financial position and maybe can't afford the designers and testing costs of a makeover into new technology (for Hulu i cannot comment, I know nothing of their finances)

My wife's netbook broke a few weeks before iPad launched and she was looking at getting one then: Wait, what? Hulu doesn't work on iPad, then what the heck is it for? Never mind, I'll just get another netbook. Sure I know that they have Hulu plus now, but for my wife who is more technical than some, but by no means a Slashgeek... Flash was a dealbreaker.

Pity she's now missing out on Hulu for the iPad. If that was her only reason, I feel bad that she's stuck with a "full sized" device that probably requires it to be plugged into the wall because flash just ate all the battery while watching her favorite show on hulu.

If you build it, they will write software for it, and in this case demand for Hulu on the iPad necessitated a push for it there.

I feel bad that she's stuck with a "full sized" device that probably requires it to be plugged into the wall because flash just ate all the battery

With more or less recent versions of Flash, it's perfectly usable on Windows, and not at all a "battery eater". All the complaints seem to be coming from other OSes.

Exactly, Adobe can't seem to make Flash work well anywhere else other than Win32, it hasn't even been officially released on 64-bit Windows yet. It's a barely useable resource hog on MacOS and Linux. So do you actually think that Adobe can make Flash work well on mobile devices?

It has been officially released on Win64 a long time ago - it's the same 32-bit plugin, which happily runs in the default 32-bit IE that comes in Win64.

A native 64-bit version - which is not required to run it on Win64 - hasn't been released yet, that is correct. But also largely irrelevant (they don't do it not because they can't do it, but because there's no business case for it).

So do you actually think that Adobe can make Flash work well on mobile devices?

Flash would let you use a web cam for real.
The ability to broadcast from any location on any network to a world wide audience with a few clicks seems 'flash easy' at this time.
Apple is still trying to get beyond wifi and device lockin with its open FaceTime camera efforts.
Sure html5 is fast, pretty and new but easy UVC web cam support is still a ?

Although I program in and use Flash daily, actual flash support was not a dealbreaker when I chose to get an android phone. It was important, sure, but not a dealbreaker. The dealbreaker was WHY flash isn't supported on apple products. It's clearly not a technical limitation since it can be installed on a jailbroken ipad and works well even through a compatibility layer http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/07/how-to-install-flash-on-your-jailbroken-ipad-for-real/. It's entirely political. I don't want to be told what I'm allowed to install or not. My devices are MY devices.

To be fair, the version of Flash that people are installing on their iPads is a hacked version of the Flash Player 10.1 for Android that was just barely released a couple weeks ago. It still has a lot of issues with Flash that requires hover actions, and playing back video at a decent framerate. Most of the complaints I've seen are that it is impossible to scrub video because the controls are too tiny to actually tap on with a finger.

Personally, I don't blame Apple for not including it with the iPad - It

To be fair, the version of Flash that people are installing on their iPads is a hacked version of the Flash Player 10.1 for Android that was just barely released a couple weeks ago. It still has a lot of issues with Flash that requires hover actions, and playing back video at a decent framerate. Most of the complaints I've seen are that it is impossible to scrub video because the controls are too tiny to actually tap on with a finger.

Personally, I don't blame Apple for not including it with the iPad - It wa

(And Jobs could easily force Adobe's hand by requiring third-party platforms support new features by new OS release date. App store apps using said platform will be removed until updated runtimes are available. Thus, native developers have advantages in having apps ready all the time, while those reliant on 3rd party platforms get locked out until the platform is updated. And everyone saves face, except Adobe has to work harder in getting their Flash updates in time with iOS updates...).

Your "minimum 1GHz processor" argument is complete bullshit. The N800 had a 400 MHz processor (ARM-based, like iToPhoPad) and could run full Flash 9 just fine (it came with the device). This was three years ago, in the relatively early days of the iPhone, which actually had a more powerful CPU IIRC. Yes, hover was tricky, and yes, it used battery life more quickly, but it *worked* just fine.

There is not, and never was, a legitimate technical reason for lack of Flash on Apple's mobiles. Linux and OS X aren't

"Does Flash support really make or break the deal when buying a smartphone or a tablet?"

I don't own an ipad because it lacks Flash. The primary reason I wanted a tablet was because I wanted a home viewer for legitimate streaming sites, many which are Flash based and encrypt the video data. Having a general purpose browser that worked well without restrictions would be a benefit. The ipad doesn't match either of these because it lacks Flash. Adobe is partly to blame, since they don' t have a clear Flash

as an iPad owner, i doubt my purchase because of the lack of flash. I couldn't watch the world cup on it, I cant see videos from my favourite sites (like tsn.ca), and there are lots of places where I see "you need to download flash to use this."
Its actually much more annoying than I thought it would be. I dont care how technically poor flash is, the fact is there are tonnes of cool stuff done in flash that I cannot access on my iPad.

Its an apple... its supposed to "just work"
I went to Canada's official carrier of world cup games (cbc.ca our official broadcaster), and wasn't able to see it.
If I wanted to search around & fiddle, id get a netbook with ubuntu... I dont, I want it to just bloody work.

I suspect that there are two(or three, depending on how you cut them up) factors at work:

1. Yes, some people do need flash, for various reasons. Not as many as used to need it; but still some.

2. Given that Adobe, spurned by Apple, is in full breakup/rebound mode, alternately calling Apple at odd hours and leaving sobbing voice mails, and vowing that they don't need Apple, there are plenty of other device makers who are just as good, and Flash 10.1 will be not sucking on anything that isn't a 2+GHz win

I have Flash 10.1 Beta 1 on my Nexus One and its kinda handy actually - its fun to watch some of those funny web cartoons, or the videos on The Escapist, or the videos on crooksandliars.com, or an inline video someone linked on a blog to youtube/vimeo or whatever. Oddly enough this really is a case of "it just works" you can rest assured visit any site and everything on it will work without any external app I have to pay for or download. Yeah sometimes its a bit buggy (its never crashed though), and the pho

flash delivered the streaming world cup games. flash delivers lots of interviews from some of my favourite sites. flash delivers a HELL of a lot of content that I miss on my iPad.
I can live without it... but I dont particularly want to.

Flash doesn't do any of that. H.264, the video codec Flash puts its own wrapper around, delivers all of that stuff. Remove the wrapper, and you've still got the same video stream. The issue isn't that the content is not available in an video format that the iPad can't play, it's that all the websites are slow to catch up on the shift. Give them time, however, and Flash will follow Realplayer into the history books.

I currently have a BlackBerry, and the operating system is horrid. I regularly have to pull the battery because the device's media processor gets tied up by software malfunctions, preventing ringtones from being played. The browser currently crashes entirely when viewing any Wikipedia page. Even sending a text message can take up to 90 seconds from the time I hit send and the time the device is usable again, apparently due to some ridiculously bad programming on the part of whoever wrote the message display software.

I am currently thinking about getting an iPad to replace my personal laptop entirely, probably after a few more first adopter issues get sorted out and I am convinced that I can carry on my normal workflow with it, browsing web pages and being able very quickly to switch to read and reply to instant messages and e-mails (which will most likely be in another browser window until a better Gmail app with threading becomes available), etc. I have an iPod Touch and believe that there is actual potential for the iPad to effectively replace my personal laptop. I also have a BlackBerry and I can't imagine a larger version of it being even the least bit useful.

I've got a Curve 8330 myself. Even though it has the latest OS (v4.5.0.175), it will still reboot on its own. Quite annoying. And yes, the processor is slow. I wish I hadn't updated Opera Mini. It's so damn slow, the mouse cursor skips all over the place. I will be dumping it for a Droid soon.

I will likely end up with a Droid, as well. I actually had a Pearl 8130 for 2 years until this past January, when my contract came up and I got a 1-year contract on a Curve 8330 on a $20.10 promotion. My desire was to let the local Alltel assets get switched to AT&T and let Verizon get the Nexus One (which didn't happen) and have the bugs ironed out on both fronts by next January, when I will either get a Droid or (if available - AT&T's acquisition here has been a no-apparent-progress thing for th

Blackberry is (unfortunately) being marginalized. They've still got a strong hold on the corporate market, but they see the writing on the wall. At some point Android and iPhones will be considered "good enough" for the corporate IT.

The problem is (as mentioned above) the blackberry OS sucks. I mean, it sucks almost as bad as Windows Mobile. That bad. It's a miracle it works at all with multimedia.

Preach it. Really all we are waiting for (us blackberry admins) is a good management server for Android or iPhone. Really all we want to do is be able to put policies on our phones so they automatically lock and encrypt. We could do these one at a time but when you have more than 10-20 phones this becomes problematic. Are there any projects out there for this?

Preach it. Really all we are waiting for (us blackberry admins) is a good management server for Android or iPhone. Really all we want to do is be able to put policies on our phones so they automatically lock and encrypt. We could do these one at a time but when you have more than 10-20 phones this becomes problematic. Are there any projects out there for this?

I know of no such thing for Android yet, but there is centralized management with onboard encryption and remote-kill/lock capability available for iPhone/iPod Touch, see the Apple marketing speak here for more info. On the bottom-right of that page there are PDF links for Deployment Resources.

I'm currently researching all of this because our BES users are fed up with BB OS and it's useless browser, so we're looking to jump ship possibly to either iPhone, Android or *shudder* Windows Mobile 7.

Of course, in the tradition of blackberry, the device will be a tablet with a keyboard, and won't have a touch screen. Fortunately they will instead use the new trackpad, instead of the trackball.
Blackberry don't have a good record with touchscreen... In fact, its pretty atrocious. People forget, the touchscreen is what makes a device. This is why iPhone, iPad, etc are so popular, Apple have nailed the touchscreen.
(btw - in case anyone accuses me of otherwise - Avid blackberry user, hate the iPhone, love the blackberry, but I call it like it is - Apple ownz touchscreens).

Funny, you'd think a blackberry user would remember the bb storm. All screen, no keyboard and it distinguishes hovering from clicking.

Not that I'm saying the bb storm touchscreen was particularly good, but at least it let you interact with the web as if you had a mouse. Now if only it didn't freeze up every other week.

We're looking at different Canadian carriers for replacement work phones, all offer the iPhone and classic keyboard-equipped Blackberries, none offer Storm on their business plans. When asked, one of them said it didn't meet their quality requirements for a business device.

I really like my Blackberry. As a phone. It's nigh indestructible, and the OS is ideal for the itsy bitsy 2.5" screen. I can even buy aftermarket replacement parts for it (trackball). However the smartphone industry has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last year. As much as I am satisfied with my BlackBerry, I know it's so far behind the curve now that even their new OS 5 can't save them now. My next phone will for sure be an Android device, maybe an iPhone. Even the new "Windows Phone 7" isn't completely distasteful. Do you really want to buy a consumer device tablet running an outdated OS designed for enterprise users? On an oversized tablet device? There's so many better options out there, starting with the Apple iPad, various Chrome/Android products in the works, and HP has a WebOS tablet in the works. But something running the Blackberry OS in this day and age simply looks....antiquated. RIM may never catch up in the smartphone OS race at this point; I think the BB Storm is proof of that. And with the Motorola Charm [google.com] on the horizon... well, we come to bury RIM, not praise their outdated OS.

I recently received a BB Bold from my company for work (I didn't really want a smartphone, but the BB Bold was literally 50% of the options offered by Verizon that did not have a camera, and the other 50% was some soon-to-be discontinued BB model; I work at locations that prohibit cameras and actually enforce that policy).

During my initial attempt to familiarize myself with the phone, the thing crashed while using the default browser on the NOAA website. Not just hung, mind you, but dump to the white screen

Enterprise user here. Apart from the exchange support and BES (which is admittedly quite nifty and unique), I certainly wouldn't argue that Blackberry's OS fits our needs to a T. In fact, we're routinely frustrated by almost all aspects of it.

I've said this many times, but it bears repeating -- The first phone manufacturer who can make a product that functions as a drop-in replacement for BES will capture the enterprise smartphone market. It's ripe for the picking.

The keyboard and battery alone make Blackberrys very good, if not the best, mobile wireless devices for the enterprise. Given Apple's 'f u' corporate service focus and poor enterprise support, its not a surprise that most large orgnaisations support the iPhone grudgingly, if at all. Blackberries don't provide great mobile internet browsing, because that's not their primary purpose. "Incompetent nazis" suggest to me you lack perspective and experience in supporting 10,000-100,000 users.

Not sure what you're talking about but the crappy Enterprise Exchange support on the blackberries make me laugh at my colleagues who allowed their phones to be "upgraded".

I stayed on a 4 year old xv6700 with WinMo 6 to avoid the "upgrade" to Blackberry because I at least get to keep my task lists and a calendar and email I can navigate quickly and at least resembles Outlook to some degree. They always complain about how crappy the em

It's not that blackberry can't make an OS...it's just that their OS isn't one I want to use for recreational purposes. Corporate email? Ok, they've got that locked up, I'll grant them that. But usable might be a bit of a stretch.

And a tablet? It's a niche market, at best. Sure, because apple released a tablet everyone's nipples are hard for one, but honestly it's a flash in the pan. What app will really drive people to a device with no keyboard, or any physical input method whatsoever? Portable media player is about all I've got here.

As far as I can tell, Microsoft has ceded the enterprise market to RIM with the introduction of Win Phone 7, which looks like a mostly consumer OS. There's got to be some detail they're leaving out about the new MS phones; when phone7 was announced there was hardly any mention about buisness use. I guess they'll expect buisness customers to continue to use WinMo 5/6 which has a featureset from five years ago?

Ok, you tell me what use a tablet is then. I can see it as a fancy media player...but other than that, what? eReader? Web browser? I realize many geeks are skilled in browsing one-handed ( myself included ), but that's not a skill that the general public is interested in learning.

What problem is a tablet trying to solve that would dismiss the format's failings?

You named them. Reader and web browser. To the average person the Internet IS the web, e-mail and IM, probably in that order. The iPad excels at the first two and is decent at the third. It's convenient to use on the couch (where most people want to use the web, e-mail and IM), it runs cool and is lighter than a notebook.

As for an reading, colour tablets are going to soon be pretty much required for students and people who need to have a lot of technical documentation around.

You missed my point; the physical format of the device requires you lay it down on something or use it one handed. eReader, ok. Media player, fine. Web browser? Not so much. Email? Again, not so much. IM? I don't know anyone who actually likes using a virtual keyboard. Smartphone users do it because their mobile options are limited, but that's not a niche this device is trying to fill.

Most users who would have a tablet will also have a laptop, complete with keyboard AND is easier to use on the couc

If you want to type on the thing, you need to have a case with a wedge so it sits at an angle. Or you can stick something under it. there's a tape measure sitting on my coffee table right now that looks like it would work pretty well. Of you can just hook up a keyboard.

It seems to be MOST useful when it's not sitting on something though. Look at how most people use a computer. They look at web pages or video and read articles, forums and e-mail. Sure, a tablet isn't an ideal platform for writing the e

I've never carried a blackberry myself, although I do know a fair number of people who were issued them for work. I remember my father saying that there were a few younger folks at his workplace that loved their crackberries back in the day, but for him it was just an oversized cell phone.

Now that you can get similar devices on pretty much every cell network, with your choice of iPhone, Android, or Windows Mobile (Win7?) OSes, I really don't see why anyone would particularly care about what RIM is creating,

They have a really good keyboard. Email, facebook, phonebook, phonecam integration is superb, it even has a (rather good!) integrated PDF viewer. But it can't browse the web worth shit. Blackberries were excellent devices barely a year ago, but I think RIM got blindsided by cheap, excellent Android phones. I think their OS development VP thought they had at least another year before Android really caught on, and could count on the iPhone exclusivity contract to bide their time. Sadly, nowadays a Blackberry

I would not count BlackBerry's Facebook integration as superb by any means. The BlackBerry Facebook app (which is written by RIM btw) works about as well as their POS browser, it fails to scroll reliably amongst other glaring bugs, check it's less than stellar 2-star rating in BB App World. It hasn't been updated in almost a year either, which should tell you something about their commitment to the average consumer.

Seriously, as a BB admin I can say that their OS sucks big hairy balls. Why would I want, or why would ANYONE want a tablet edition of this? Even with the BIS, you are so limited in what you can do..eg I can brick it and a couple other neat tricks. What is the point? You are a sinking ship BB, going the way of palm because you are a one trick pony whose trick isn't even good anymore.

Things that BB needs to fix before they can even pretend to compete with iPhone

When the BlackPad comes out I will be the first in line to get one. The main reason will be that I already have a great dataplan for my Blackberry and I will not have to pay for another dataplan. What will also set Blackberry out from the crowd is that their OS and servers are way more effiecient at using bandwidth. I am a very hearvy user of emailmail and internet on my blackberry and I have yet to ever come close to using 25% of my dataplan limit. Now with the Blackpad, I will now not have to go throu

Could someone please explain me what's the big deal about BlackBerry? Every time I tried to use one of those I hated the experience, from top to bottom, and never managed to understand why anyone would actually choose a device by RIM than from Nokia or even SE (or now Apple).

Is it the Enterprise support with things like the BlackBerry server? But now you can get that with other phones, right? I mean, even with Google Apps you get most of that now through their Exchange support...

Well that is kind of the way many of these companies go *cough*palm. You have forums filled with threads of people asking for a feature or improvement. Then RIM releases something that not one person asked for. Seriously, community driven development is the way to go. That is why I have so much hope for the Android. I like companies that ask the users what they want rather than telling them what they want.